The event - which saw the big winner of the night Adele cut off in her prime - drew an average of 6.2 million viewers, including those who tuned in on +1.

It made the ITV1 show the biggest since 2005 when Chris Evans hosted and performers included Green Day and Scissor Sisters, drawing 6.3 million.If catch-up viewers are excluded, last night's show audience was 5.9 million, making it the biggest since 2008.

Double winner Adele, whose haul included the big prize of the night for best album, had her speech curtailed when the show was in danger of overrunning its time slot.